DC Teams: Sf–Sz

The Society

Soveriegn Seven

It was all a dream...

Created by Chris Claremont. Co-created by Dwayne Turner
Some text from the 1995 Skybox Legends Powerchrome cards

Yes! In the last issue, #36, the whole series was revealed as
an imaginary story. The Sovereign Seven story said to have been a comic
book written by two women, Morgan and Casey (how original). Morgan's daughter's
name was Rhian. The bar where they wrote the comic was the bar in which S7
hung out. Supposedly, since the characters were owned by Chris Claremont (with
the exception of Power Girl), he just decided to retcon them out of existence
when the series got cancelled. Truly a slap in the face to anyone who stuck
it out on this series.

This group hailed from the planet Meridian. It's membership included:

Cascade (Rhian Douglas, their leader) had to hide every thought
from her mother, Maitresse, and found it hard to break her long silences.
Founder and leader of S7, she was their transportation, "cascading" the
team across tiem and space.

Reflex (Walter Thorrson) was too big to fit in anywhere, and found
frustration with the small-sized world that expected him to be a bruiser.
He was a fighter, with lightning-quick reflexes and speed, but he was also
a thoughtful scholar.

Rampart (Jaffar ibn Haroun al-Rashid) possessed the ability to erect
virtually impentrable shields of psychic forcs. He was the fortress behind
which his companions could take shelter. At ease in all situations, hes greatest
power may have been his hold over women.

Finale (Pahe Leilani Fave'ela) served the eldritch power to which
she had pledged herself, and that force gave her extraordinary skills and
secret knowledge. In return, it demanded the life essence of those she
slayed.

Indigo (Conal Savoy) was an enigmatic androgyne, a master of
concealment, able to create a state of stillness that allowed him to sremain
unnoticed even in a crowded room. Wtih no civilian identity, Indigo ws
known only by that name.

Network (Taryn Haldane) was a telepath, primarily linked to Cascade.
They stayed in constant rapport, and Network could link the other members
together mentallyt. She served as a focus for Cascade's teleportation ability.

Cruiser (Nicholas Hellicaon) was the embodiment of young exuberance.
His telekinetic powers made him the raw muscle of S7. Powers of flight,
lift, and destruction.

Soyuz

Squadron of Justice

The Squadron Supreme

S.T.A.R. Labs

Written by John "Mikishawm" Wells

S.T.A.R. Labs (Scientific and Technological Advanced Research Laboratories)
was founded by Garrison Slate. (Blue Beetle #12) The institution
has cultivated a number of strong relationships with costumed heroes over the
years. Superman sought their assistance almost from the beginning of his career,
whether dealing with a major viral outbreak (Superman for
all Seasons #3) or
simply gathering paraphernalia for a trip into outer space (Action
Annual #7). The Man of Steel has been on particularly good terms with several
of Metropolis' previous S.T.A.R. administrators, notably Wilson Farr(Superman v.1 #246), Jenet Klyburn (#304) and Kitty Faulkner(Superman v.2 #7), the latter two of whom he met when they were still
rising stars.

It was through Dr. Klyburn that Wally West and most of the Teen
Titans first became affiliated with S.T.A.R. (New Teen
Titans v.1 #36). He formed a more personal connection thanks to a brief affair with nutritionist-researcher Tina McGee(Flash v.2 #3-4) and remains a friend to her and husband
Jerry at S.T.A.R.'s Central City branch (#185-188). Typical of many of the company's
relationships with super-heroes, they helped Wally  through medical research (#3-4, 117-118), enhanced costumes (#50) and simple technical expertise (#84)  as much as he helped them.

The Titans had a personal stake in S.T.A.R.  and its San Francisco branch
 for years. Karen 'Bumblebee' Beecher was hired at this S.F. site
during an early expansion (New Titans #57). Vic 'Cyborg' Stone, aside
from being the child of two S.T.A.R. scientists (New Teen
Titans v.1 #7), was romantically involved with Dr. Sarah Charles, a major player
in the field of medical science (Tales of the Teen Titans
#57-58) and
one-time prot'g' to the pioneering Helen Angelico (Superboy
v.3 #80).

When S.T.A.R. decided to make the San Francisco branch the hub of its entire
medical operation, Sarah agreed to head up the facility (New
Teen Titans v.2 #41). The Red Star, Eric Forester (#48-49), Christopher King (Hawk
& Dove Annual #1) and Crystallex (New Titans #118) were among
the subjects of the facility's metahuman studies and Mirage (New
Titans #122, 125-127) and Rose Wilson (Deathstroke
#51) were only two
of those benefiting from its state-of-the-art medical wing. Sarah eventually
transferred to New York (<Titans #7) and Metropolis (#20) but
Karen Beecher-Duncan, after a short stay in Los Angeles (Titans
Secret Files #2) has returned
to the San Francisco branch (Titans #44).

In his days as an attorney, Josiah Power helped Slate in incorporating S.T.A.R.
More recently, Josiah has been negotiating a contract with the company. (Power
Company #5)

The Cadre has recently been engaging in raids at
companies such as Ryder Technologies (P.C. #1) and Dayton Industries (#8). It was at Stagg Industries that the Power Company discovered Dr. Polaris'
involvement (#9). And, unbeknownst to Skyrocket, S.T.A.R. Labs is the Cadre's
final destination (#5).

» FIRST APPEARANCE: Superman v.1 #246 (1971)

Strike Force Kobra

The original Strike Force, from Outsiders v.1 #21 (1987)
Art by Jim Aparo.

Kobra created this Strike Force to carry out a theft at Stagg Enterprises.
Kobra placed two operatives inside Simon Stagg's operations and another infiltrated
the Outsiders. Stagg's assistant, Java (motivated by his desire for Stagg's
daughter, Sapphire) incapacitated Metamorpho, while another employee, Parker,
gained access to Stagg's technology. They included:

A new Clayface (IV) who
infiltrated the Outsiders by impersonating Looker. The remaining three
Strike Force members were engineered from remnants of Batman's rogues gallery:

Elemental Woman, inspired by the Elemental Man, a lab
assistant transformed by a freak accident to have Metamorpho-type powers
(Detective #194)

Zebra-Man II, inspired by the original Zebra-Man, a
mad scientist surrounded by a black and white magnetic field that repelled
objects (Detective #275)

In
the end, Kobra's moles at Stagg Enterprises betrayed him. Java reasserted
his loyalty to Stagg and freed Metamorpho. This tipped the scales for
the Outsiders just in time to fight Parker, who had been transformed into the Spectrumonster (based
on the Rainbow Creature from Batman #134). (Outsiders v.1 #21)

In this form, Parker went
berserk. He was dispersed by a black light ray, apparently permanently.
Afterwards, Rex and Sapphire adopted Parker's orphaned daughter, Karen. (#22) Clayface
escaped to menace Batman again; the others have never re-appeared.

Syonide II, Fauna, Derivsh and Windfall.
Art by Paul Pelletier.

Kobra later formed a new team led by his righthand... woman, Eve. Her
team included former Outsiders foes Syonide II,
Fauna, Windfall and Dervish (Fauna and Syonide were lovers). Also,
Kobra had rescued Halo's dead body and revived it with the same powers as
Halo. This entity was called Spectra. This team was easily decimated
by the Eradicator's new band of Ousiders; Syonide was killed. When Eve called
Kobra for help, he requested that they turn themselves in rather than commit
suicide. (Kobra was busy menacing the Flash [Flash v.2
#100].) Dervish
and Eve were imprisoned. Windfall, who had been duped by Spectra, joined
the Outsiders. Spectra herself escaped. Fauna was spirited away and punished
by her father, Felix Faust. (Outsiders v.2 #16)

Presumably, this incident drove a rift between Eve and Kobra, as they have
become bitter enemies. (Power Company: Sapphire) Dervish
resurfaced briefly when the Joker wrought havoc in the Slab. (Joker:
Last Laugh #3)

The Suicide Squad

The Super Buddies

Formerly Known as the Justice League

This hapless group was resurrected by Maxwell
Lord IV from the
long-cold ashes of the Justice League International. Despite his recent
malevolent endeavors as Lord Havoc, Max abandoned
his biomechanical armor and returned to life as a business man. As luck
would have it, he bumped into one of his close JLI associates, L-Ron,
at the drive through of Big Belly Burger. The two hoped to reinvigorate
their lives by reuniting the members of their old organization and set
immediately about contacting them. They were successful in swaying Captain
Atom, Booster Gold, Fire, Elongated Man and Sue Dibny. Captain
Marvel, however,
refused the offer, so his sister Mary (Captain Marvel II)
accepted in his stead. With much persuasion, Blue
Beetle was also
convinced to join (despite his heart condition). (FKAJL
#1)

But nevermind super-villains, the group's first challenge was against their
local neighborhood watch group. Justifiably, the locals did not welcome the
presence of a potentially dangerous super-group in their quiet town. But the
heroes managed to prove themselves to the community by defending it against
the local gang, the E Street Bloodsuckers. (#2)

Much to the team's horror, Max produced a promotional video which dubbed the
group "The Super Buddies." Before they could debate the
name, the heroes were abducted by Roulette. In her casino, heroes are mind-controlled
into a battle to-the-death. Under Roulette's influence, Captain Marvel severely
trounced Captain Atom. (#3) It was Fire who overcame
the mind control and freed her friends, but Captain Atom was already in
critical condition. One challenge was over, but another loomed (literally)
overhead: the Cluster ship of Manga Khan arrived on Earth. (#4)

Khan's mission was simple and relatively non-threatening: he wanted to barter
his former aide, L-Ron for his captive, G'nort (who was now a Darkstar).
This kind of extraterrestrial presence drew the attention of the JLA 
who had already been keeping tabs on the Superbuddies. (#5) The JLA stepped in when things got sticky, but Sue and Max saved the
day. They managed to convince Manga Khan that he had been captured! For his
release, he agreed to give up his claim to L-Ron and to designate Earth a "barter-free"
zone. Afterward, Khan confessed that his ploy had been fueled by his unrequited
love for L-Ron. (#6)

I Can't Believe It's Not the Justice League!

The Super Buddies discovered that a reformed super-villain named Blackguard
was moving in next door. Worse, his partner is the one and only Guy
Gardner! (JLA Classified #4) While Sue and Max debated what
to do about it, young Billy Batson appeared, forbidding Mary to continue her
association with the team. He had a point; in classic Guy form, the chauvinist
grabbed Mary in an inappropriate way, sending the team into a tizzy. To her
credit, Mary retaliated on her own, and Guy actually apologized.

After Captain Atom resigned from the team (and died shortly thereafter), Max
knew they could benefit from adding another "big gun." So he sent Beetle and
Booster to JSA headquarters to try to recruit Power
Girl.
Kara was happy to see her old friends, but declined. Meanwhile, Booster went
a-wandering and stumbled upon an artifact in Dr. Fate's chambers. As he held
the artifact, he was consumed with malice towards his compatriots, who always
treated him as an idiot. He would have some revenge: holding the artifact,
he wished that the Super Buddies would all go to hell. And they did, immediately. (#5)

From hell, Fire was able to make a cell phone call to Sue, until her own anger
burned up the phone. Just then, they encountered the Demon, Etrigan, who escorted
them to their torment. Back on Earth, Guy offered to help find the Super Buddies.
He grasped Fate's artifact and uttered the magic word, "Shazam," and he and
Power Girl were whisked away to hell. Power Girl was amazed, then stunned because
not only were they in hell, but Guy revealed that he was again in possession
of the yellow power ring. He refused to explain how he reacquired it, but made
it very clear that his recent trip to hell had left him... changed. Meanwhile,
the Buddies were put to work at the Big Belly Burger of hell. One of their
customers? Their late friend, Ice! (#6)

Guy and Fire were stunned to see Tora again. But the outpouring love was too
much for the Demon Etrigan to bear. He bade them to leave and even allowed
them to take Ice with them (he said that her presence in Hell was a mistake).
The team could go but were bound by Hell's "Orpheus Protocol" — if
on the way out of Hell, any were to turn and look behind them at Ice, her soul
would again be forefeit (although Etrigan claimed that this time, she would
pass on to her proper afterlife). The journey proved too difficult for Fire,
who did turn to look. Ice vanished and the team returned to the surface. (#7)

Or did they? The team found themselves instead in an alternate dimension (perhaps
the antimatter universe), where they met their evil counterparts: The
Power Posse. They were a crime ring fronted by an adult strip club.
Their "Oberon" worked the ticket booth; Max was again the mastermind;
Ice and Sue were "entertainers"; Metamorpho a bouncer; and Booster
a bartender. They also met a set of perverted Marvels: Mistress Mary and
her brother; and a King Kong sized G'nort. (#8) These
counterparts were none the quicker and the Buddies escaped their confrontation
with the Posse. It could easily have b een that this hell was meant to be Beatriz' personal hell,
which surely could include such a horrible ordeal. Beetle tried to convince
Bea that it was in fact, not Tora. They were left wondering how to return home,
when Guy jokingly tapped his heels and said "there's no place like home." Of
course (!) this worked. Dr. Fate angrily reclaimed his artifact and the team
went on about its... business. (#9)

After all their harmless escapades, the Super Buddies were destined
to far worse than disrespect. Not long after their formation, its members were
rocked with a series of shocking tragedies. First, Sue Dibny was murdered by
her former friend, Jean Loring. (Identity
Crisis #1) And in the fallout from this event, Max again revealed his
true colors — he had used his time with the League to acquire sensitive information
on all its members, including secret identities and weaknesses. He ascended
to the title of Black Knight in the government organization
called Checkmate and also stole control of the Batman's surveillance satellite,
Big Brother. When the Blue Beetle discovered
Max's plans to rid the world of metahumans, Max shot Ted in the head. (DC
Countdown)

NOTE: This group was never considered an official branch of the Justice League.

» FIRST APPEARANCE: Formerly
Known as the Justice League #1 (September 2003). Named: #2.

» SERIES: Formerly Known as the Justice League, 6-issue limited series
(2003-04)

» FEATURED APPEARANCES: JLA:
Classified #4-9 (2005)

The Super Friends

The Super-Malon

Created by Chuck Dixon and Alcatena
Special thanks to Gon Fernández

The Super-Malon from Flash Annual #13 (2000); art by Alcatena.

Little is known about this Argentinian group.
In thieir first recorded adventure, they contacted two Flashes  Jay
Garrick and Wally West  to help free them from the clutches of the
wizard, Gualicho.
Wally freed their sole female member, the sorceress Salamanca, and she
dispatched the villain. NOTES:Malón is
a word derived from a language native to parts of Chile and Argentina, and
roughly translates as "surprise incursion." A gaulicho is
a kind of a bad spell thrown on to someone by a tribe wizard.

They are:

El Bagual, with a horse's head and hooves. In Spanish, "bagual"
means "horse" in the "bronco/rodeo/cowboy" sense.

Cachirú, a winged hero with former romantic ties to Salamanca.
Cahirú is a fierce mythological bird-creature. (He was described by
creator Chuck Dixon as a "Hawkman/Batman amalgam")

Cimarrón, the swashbuckling type. Dixon described him
as a gaucho, or Argentine cowboy. "Cimarrón" means "wild
(animal)." (He was described by creator
Chuck Dixon as a "Daredevil/Wolverine combo")

El Lobizon, with the head of a wolf. El Lobizon is a legendary South
American werewolf.

Pampero, who wears a white and light blue uniform. "Pampero" is
a word used to describe the winds across the Argentine plains.

Salamanca, a sorceress who can project an astral form from her
body. The legends of northern Argentina tell of a cave
called Salamanca where people go to sell their souls to the devil to become
wizards and obtain powers and eternal lust.

Vizacacha, sporting a rodent-like cowl and claws. The vizacaha are
common Argentine rodents.

The speedster is El Yaguareté. Real yaguarités
were jaguar-like cats; they are now extinct.

Salamanca and Cachirú also solved a case whereby they reunited a century-old
ghost with his lost love. (Flash Annual #13)

This group appeared briefly to quell a mob of laborers outside the Ballesteros
Corporation in Buenos Aires. Its head, Sebastian Ballesteros, was in fact the
Cheetah (III). When his predecessor,
Barbara Minerva (Cheetah II),
came looking for him, one of the Malon (Yaguarité) was seriously injured
by her wrath. (Wonder Woman #186-187)

» FIRST APPEARANCE: Flash v.2 Annual #13 (2000)

» FEATURED APPEARANCES: Wonder
Woman v.2 #186-187

Superman Revenge Squad

Pre-Crisis

From the Jeff Rovin's Encyclopedia of Super-Villains

Members: Dramx, Fwom, Nakox, Nryana, Rava, Ulyro, Vlatuu and many others
over the years; the roster is constantly changing due to death and attrition.
Founded by the militaristic denizens of the planet Wexr II, whose plans of conquest
Superman has foiled, the squad of "Revengers" is committed to destroying
the man of steel. A secondary goal is the destruction of earth. The Squad is
based on a "shrouded planet... millions of light-years and thousands of
galaxies" from earth. They hold their meetings in the Hall of Hate, which
is chockfull of statues of members who have died because of Superman (the penalty
for failure is death). All their ships are emblazoned with a broken "S"
on the hull.

» FIRST APPEARANCE: Action
Comics #286 (1962)

Post-Crisis

The current Revenge Squad was assembled by Metropolis media magnate, Morgan
Edge. Edge sought to incite destruction which could be blamed on his nemesis,
Lex Luthor. To this end, he guarded his identity and formed a volatile group
of Superman's foes: Riot, Maxima, Misa, Barrage and Anomaly. Led
by Maxima, this team was torn apart by Misa's childishness and Barrage's vendetta
against Maggie Sawyer. Also, Riot rigged Edge's psi-helmet so that it would
reveal his duplicitous thoughts to the team. Misa and Maxima quickly bolted
and all parties involved were left with the impression that Lex Luthor had been
behind it all. (Adv. of Superman #543, Man of Steel #65, Action #730)

Soon, Barrage escaped from Stryker's prison with the help of the Parasite.
Edge recruited them along with Rock and Baud. This time, Edge
revealed his identity and agenda to the group. This team also self-destructed:
because of the Parasite's instability. Edge escaped without a trace, and left
all clues of the group's acts pointing towards Luthor. (Action #736, Man
of Steel #71, Superman #127)

Supermen of America: The Elite Brigade

The Supermen of America came about during a phase when Superman was possessed
by the evil Dominus. Dominus had switched minds with the Man of Steel and,
to the world, it looked as though Superman were trying to exert total control.

The club began with Mitch Andersen, a boy whose family had been saved by Superman
shorty before his death at the hands of Doomsday. (Superman
#74) Andersen
later developed magnetic abilities, took the name Outburst, and saved
Luthor's life. (Superman #142) Soon thereafter,
Lex Luthor lured Outburst to him by over-exposing the young hero in the
media. Recognizing an opportunity, Luthor formed the "Supermen of
America" as
a volunteer organization designed to embody Superman's principles. In truth,
Luthor sought a way to use the movement to subvert and replace Superman.

Mitch agreed with Luthor's plans, and was tapped as the leader of the so-called
"Elite Brigade." Metahumans and civilians alike were soon recruited.
The core group consisted of the behemoth, Brahma; the magician, White
Lotus; Loser, who generates a personal force field; Pyrogen, a flame-handler;
and Psilencer, who had tactical intuition. These six were promoted
in a TV spot and introduced publicly (including their real names). In one
of their more serious battles, Psilerncer was killed. Shaken, Outburst refused
any further monetary compensation from Luthor, but continued to uphold Superman's
ideals. (Superrmen
of America v.1 #1)

Their inexperience was evident. On their first several outings, they managed
to confound Lois Lane repeatedly, which inspired her to write a deprecatory
article. (Action #752)This corps grew to include many
civilians as well. They and the "elite brigade" were undeterred when
the Man of Steel seemed to show no interest in them. They merely assumed he
had more important matters at hand. (Superman: Man of Steel
#87) Their
faith in him was so strong that they even opposed "Team Superman" and
warned Superman that the United Nations had declared war on him. (Action
#753)

When Dominus was exposed, the group — and the movement — remained strong.
The organization went on to refurbish buildings across Metropolis as community
centers. The main one (Outreach-1) served as the elite's headquarters.
They met with Maximum, a young hero whose identity was public and who
defended the streets of Suicide Slum. Maximum joined them in battle against
one Calvin Broderick. Broderick was a disgruntled Lexcorp employee with a
secret... (Supermen
of America v.2 #1) Broderick knew that S.T.A.R. Labs had hidden a chamber
called Lockdown-6 deep underwater. It contained an unspeakable power, one which
Lex Luthor was keen to possess. Luthor successfully deployed Pyrogen to retrieve
the capsule, where the Supermen encountered the Deep Six of Apokolips. It
seemed their lord, Darkseid was also after its power. (#2) In distant space,
the race known as the Okaarans sensed the imminent danger in opening this
capsule, and dispatched a "cleansing batallion" to Earth. (#3)

The Okaarans overpowered Earth's forces and the White Lotus was left to attempt
to negotiate a peace settlement. To save Earth from worse attacks, the Lotus
agreed that Earth would hand over the capsule. Just then, however, in Lexcorp
tower, the chamber was opened and unleashed an anti-matter wave. (#4) This wave
paralyzed everyone except Loser, whose null force field made him immune. He
discovers that the force inside the chamber was the Unimaginable. Its host,
Dr. Bendorion, sought to transfer the energy to a new host. then deduced that
this host was Maximum, who had been engineered by Lexcorp to serve such a purpose.
In this, Bendorion succeeded, and Max inherited the powers of a God. (#5) In
the end, Maximum's parents convinced him to relinquish the power, which he sent
" everywhere." (Secretly, Luthor devises a plan to gradually retrieve
the energy.) In exchange for the Supermen's silence about his involvement with
the Unimaginable, Luthor cut its ties with the Superman organization. All property
deeds were signed over to the organization. (#6)

When Maxwell Lord's OMAC technology took over the planet, the Supermen were
seen battling the androids. The team was described as "67.89% neutralized."
It remains to be seen what that means, exactly. (OMAC Project #6)

Notes

The Unimaginable's
appearance in this series contradicts its appearance in Valor #6-10 (1993).